Fetty Wap sentenced to 6 years in prison on drug trafficking charge

CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — A judge on Wednesday sentenced rapper Fetty Wap to six years in prison for his role in a drug-trafficking scheme that brought cocaine, heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine to parts of New York and New Jersey.

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The “Trap Queen” rapper, whose legal name is Willie Junior Maxwell II, pleaded guilty last year to a charge of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Authorities said Maxwell was “a kilogram-level redistributor for the trafficking organization,” which included five others — including a New Jersey corrections officer.

The sentence handed down by U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert was more than the five years requested by Maxwell’s attorney and less than the minimum seven-and-a-half-year sentence sought by prosecutors. He had faced a maximum sentence of nine years, officials said.

Authorities arrested Maxwell, 31, in October 2021. He has been jailed since August, when he saw his bail revoked after prosecutors said he threatened to kill someone and showed a firearm during a FaceTime call, The New York Times reported.

In a letter filed last week in court, prosecutors asked that Maxwell get a sentence as high as nine years, saying that he “has used, and continues to use, his fame, sizeable platform and influence to glamorize the drug trade.” Authorities specifically noted his use of children in the music video for “Trap Queen.”

Maxwell’s lawyer asked for a sentence of five years, saying that, in the years since his arrest, her client “realizes the terrible mistake he made.”

New Jersey corrections officer Anthony Cyntje, 25, was sentenced in March to six years in prison for his role in the drug trafficking scheme. Anthony Leonardi, 49, Robert Leonardi, 28, Brian Sullivan, 27, and Kavaughn L. “KV” Wiggins, 28, await sentencing.

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Photos: Fetty Wap through the years 2015: Fetty Wap performs during Billboard Hot 100 Festival - Day 2 at Nikon at Jones Beach Theater on August 23, 2015, in Wantagh, New York. (Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Billboard)

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